TO THE HERACLEOTIC CHERSONESUS. 
199 
where the town of Ahtiar was built about chap. 
twenty years ago, has been appropriated to ' — , — 
the reception of Russian ships of war*. The 
Crimea does not afford timber for building 
ships, although there is always a sufficient 
supply for repairs. The fleets of the world 
might ride secure, and have convenient ancho- 
rage, in the great bay ; and in any of the ports, 
vessels find from twenty-one to seventy feet 
depth of water, and good anchorage. To the 
Russian navy it is one of their most important 
possessions; yet such was the surprising igno- 
rance or the negligence of their Government, 
that, for some time after the capture of the 
Crimea, the advantages of this place were not 
discovered. The plan of the harbour somewhat 
resembles that of Malta. 
Aktiar contains two churches: one of them Aktiar. 
is a handsome building. The principal street 
is broad, and the stairs of the quay are spacious 
and magnificent. For the rest, with the ex- 
ception of its magazines and barracks, it can 
only boast of a few shops’. Other objects 
(2) There are other ports, such as the “ Careening Bay,” the 
“ Bay of Quarantine,” &c. 
(3) “ Aktiar, so called from its while rocks. The old town stood, as 
we were told, on the north of the harbour, where there are no remains 
